By-Laws for Canton Intermediate School
Parent Teacher Organization
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The name of this organization shall be the Canton Intermediate School Parent Teacher Organization hereafter referred to as the CIS PTO.
Mission Statement
The purpose of the CIS PTO is to promote a united effort between educators and parents working cooperatively to enhance the educational experience for every CIS student; to create opportunity for cultural enrichment, to sponsor events that support a sense of community and benefit the students and staff and to keep abreast of school and district objectives in order to support their initiatives.
General Policies
This organization shall seek neither to direct the administrative activities of the school nor attempt to set school policy.
No member or officer of this organization shall use the name of the CIS PTO to promote or endorse any ideas, policies, or activities except in accordance with the stated Mission.
This organization does not promote or endorse any political or commercial activity nor shall members use the name of the organization for any purpose except to pursue the Mission.
Membership~
Membership is open to all parents and guardians of CIS students; annual dues are required and payable in September.
The Principal and CIS Teaching Staff are considered members of the PTO, eligible to vote and not required to pay dues.
Members must be willing to abide by the Mission, By-Laws and established policies of this organization in order to participate in CIS PTO activities.
General meetings of the CIS PTO are held at the Canton Intermediate School from September through May.~ The CIS Principal and at least one CIS staff member will attend every meeting. The CIS staff members will follow a rotating schedule arranged by the Principal.
Members are invited to attend all CIS PTO General Meetings, eligible to vote at such meetings, and to hold any elective office or appointed position.
CIS PTO Board
The CIS PTO Board consists of~a minimum of four (4) officers.
President~ (or two Co-Presidents)
Vice President (or two Co-Vice Presidents)
Secretary
Treasurer
The Term of office for all officers is thirteen (13) months; to commence on June 1 of the year elected, continuing to July 1 of the following year. This overlap of officers for one month allows for time for training and planning purposes.~ A maximum of three (3) consecutive years may be served in any board position at which time the position is listed as vacant. Past PTO officers can be nominated for any position, including a position previously held, providing it was listed as vacant and the former officer nominated according to the bylaws. Vacancy of an officer prior to their term ending shall be filled by a majority vote of the Board.
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Duties of the CIS PTO Officers
President (Co –Presidents) shall:
Preside over general and executive board meetings of the organization
Call any necessary special meetings
Oversee officers and committee chairpersons to ensure alignment with school & PTO objectives
Be an ex-officio member of all committees
Meet with Principal to discuss upcoming events and seek approval of plans
Coordinate calendar of PTO events (together with V.P. and Principal)
Cosign with treasurer all contracts and obligations authorized by PTO board
Be authorized to sign checks of the organization
Vice-President shall:
Assume responsibility for duties assigned by the President
Represent the President in her/his absence
Coordinate calendar of PTO events (together with President and Principal)
Be an ex-officio member of all committees
Secretary shall:
Keep a record of all CIS PTO Board and general membership meetings, inclusive of roll call
Produce the agenda for general meetings. This requires contacting (via email, one week prior) all board members, committee chairs (upcoming and recently completed events only), and school principal to determine new business and teacher, student, principal and committee reports.
Post minutes and agendas to website coordinator
Produce thank you notes to event volunteers and donors
Attend to all PTO correspondence (written & electronic)
Maintain an annual list of volunteers - to include: Parent/Guardian’s name, student’s name, phone number and email address
Provide committee chairpersons with list of volunteers
Act as custodian of all CIS PTO records, except those specifically assigned to others
Treasurer shall:
Have custody of all financial records of the CIS PTO and charge of CIS PTO funds
Prepare an annual budget (together with the executive board) to be voted on at the first CIS PTO general meeting of each school year
Maintain an accurate account of all monies received and disbursed
Render a written and verbal financial report at all general meetings, executive board meetings and upon request of the CIS PTO board
Keep a permanent record of all financial statements handed in by committees
Provide an event budget to all committee chairpersons
Prepare books to be audited and turned over to incoming treasurer at the close of each fiscal year (July 1 – June 30)
CIS PTO Committees
Standing committees will be created or disbanded by the Board as may be required to promote the objectives of the organization. Each committee will have at least one Chair.
Committee Chair duties include:
Work with CIS PTO executive board to ensure that the goals and objectives of the PTO are understood
Assemble a committee and recruit volunteers
Keep PTO President informed of plans, needs, any concerns and timeline
Attend the two PTO general meetings surrounding your event to report on committee progress beforehand and a recap afterward
Create and/or maintain a record of all committee activities to be kept by the PTO and given to future chairs of same event
Obtain approval of CIS PTO and school principal for any and all correspondence; including but not limited to flyers, donation request letters, emails and posters.
Work within defined budget restrictions and seek approval from PTO board when necessary to increase expenses
Submit receipts for reimbursement of expenses in a timely manner and understand that no receipt = no reimbursement
Nominations
~~~~~~ Nominees for office will be selected from the CIS PTO and the CBPS PTO membership in the following manner:
A three (3) person nominating committee, consisting of one CIS PTO Officer and two PTO general members, or one officer, one general member and one faculty member, shall be formed.
The nominating committee shall determine open board and chairperson positions for the coming school year and send a notice to the general membership asking for nominees in March.
The committee shall contact nominees before April 15th to receive an acceptance or refusal of the nomination. In the event of more than one accepted nomination per board position a slate of nominees shall be published and sent to the general membership for a vote before April 30th.
New Board Members will be inducted at the May PTO General Meeting.
Conducting of Business
The CIS PTO Board shall transact all business of the organization, create or disband committees as needed to further our Mission (stated earlier), and approve payments to be made by the Treasurer. The CIS PTO Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. No business may be transacted at a meeting where less than a majority of the board is present.
Nine (9) CIS PTO general membership meetings will be held annually, September through May. The incoming Board shall determine the dates and times before they begin their term on July 1.~ These dates and times will be published for the membership.~ All scheduled general meetings shall be open to all CIS PTO members and all members are eligible to vote. A majority vote is required to pass any motion with the exception of a motion to amend the By-Laws which requires a three quarters vote to pass.
The President (Co-Presidents) may call special general membership meetings for a specific purpose; members must be notified seven (7) days in advance. The CIS PTO Board is empowered to deal with matters of urgency, which arise at a time when it is impossible or impractical to convene a special general membership meeting.
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Board meetings (attendance limited to the CIS PTO officers) may be held at the discretion of the President or Co-Presidents.
When necessary or practical the President or Vice President may conduct business via email. The entire board of officers must be notified and a discussion opened. The issue/decision shall be an agenda item at the next general meeting, to be recorded in the minutes by the secretary.
The rules of procedure described in Robert’s Rules of Order shall apply to all meetings of the organization.
Funds
The proposed annual budget shall be presented for a vote at the September General Meeting.
The CIS PTO board may spend monies within the approved budget as it sees fit.
Requests to spend monies in excess of pre-approved amounts or outside of an existing category will require a proposal and a majority vote at a general meeting.
By-Laws
On all questions of interpretation of the By-Laws, the decision of the CIS PTO Board will be final.
These by-laws may be amended by a three-quarters vote of members present at a general membership meeting.~ Proposed amendments shall be published and distributed to the members present at the general meeting held in the month prior to the vote and then posted on the school website at least two weeks prior to the vote.
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A committee shall review the CIS PTO By-Laws every three (3) years.~ These By-Laws were revised June 2008 by the CIS PTO By-Laws Committee: Teri Macias (CIS PTO Co-President), Francesca Biggart (general member CIS PTO) and Angie Abbott (general member CBPS PTO).
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